Employment scheme has it nailed for parents
A ground breaking nail care training centre has been launched inside an Ayrshire primary school – in a bid to boost employability skills among parents.
In a first for Scotland under the Developing Young Workforce ( DYW) initiative, the enterprise has been set up at Ayr’s Newton Primary to help promote learning.
But it’s parents rather than pupils who are going back to school.
South Ayrshire Council, the Prince’s Trust and DYW have teamed up for the landmark project to help parents aged 19- 24 with children at the school.
A total of around £ 4000 has been invested in the scheme by the three organisations, which has funded a fully equipped nail care facility, initially providing training for up to 10 parents.
A range of SVQ qualifications will also be available through Ayrshire College to further improve skills.
Fiona McAvoy, Newton Primary Head Teacher, said: “This innovative project will not only provide significant development opportunities to the young mothers participating but also provide a community focus, as well as enabling our parents to more fully support their children by building greater self- assurance in literacy and numeracy.”
Councillor Margaret Toner, schools spokesman for South Ayrshire Council, added: “This is an exciting project and proves that our schools have an important role to play encouraging learning in the wider community.
“We already have similar schemes running for pupils and I am sure adults will also find the experience to be extremely rewarding.
“This is an opportunity for our young parents to achieve new skills and gain in confidence too.
“I wish all the participants the very best of luck.”
The cheques with the funding from the Prince’s Trust and DYW were presented to the school by David Smith of DYW Ayrshire and Walter Smith, Prince’s Trust Ayrshire Chair.
David said: “We are absolutely delighted to support such an innovative project and are very impressed by the speed of implementation and early involvementof the young people.”
Walter added: “The Nailed It @ Newton project will significantly enhance both the customer service and communication skills of the young people which are very attractive to potential employers “
The school, in partnership with the Prince’s Trust and DYW, is also looking to introduce other ventures for parents such as a bike maintenance centre.